I feel spring in the air...
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I’ve not been taking photos just recently. Been pretty busy with one thing or another. It felt good to get the camera out this afternoon.
These are my beautiful birthday tulips that my mom bought me last week ❤️
Everyone knows how much I love flowers 😉
The trunk that I’m using is another birthday present from Hubby. I just love the look of it with all those paint splashes on it. Adds so much character 🙌🏻
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#petalsandprops #tulips...

Over the last few months locals and businesses around the world have shown their support for each other in a way nobody has seen before. This package is a way to share the loveliest products from our Dutch neighbours.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 🤩
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*New additions in my online shop*
These prints are now available to purchase. Link to my shop is in my bio ✅
All my work is printed on beautiful Hahnemuhle bamboo fine art paper and I ship worldwide....

It’s peony season!! Ok I go on about how I feel about these blooms at the same time every year. But somehow this time it means more.
As we are moving through our collective loss of the world we knew, there comes a time where gratitude will appear for us. And I am immensely grateful every day for what we have that is good... great even. For some it could be a simple cup of coffee. This time it’s a bunch of peonies.
I dedicate this bunch to the mamas. Mother’s Day is two weeks away (9 May) and I have just photographed this glorious armful of wonder, and they are ready for someone’s heart to fall in love with them.
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#apbloem #florist #amsterdam #bloemist #kerkstraat #flowers #bloemen #bouquet #dutch #webshop #bloemenbezorgen #flowerdeliveries #plukboeket #veldboeket #bloemetjeversturen #onlinedelivery #dutchmasters #dutchgoldenage #bespoke #fieldbouquet #supportlocal #shoplocal #moedersdag #paeonia #flowershop #bloemenwinkel #peonies #springflowers #mothersday the_flowershopkeepers the_shopkeepers thursdofficial the_greengallery mooiwatbloemendoen...

I haven’t posted anything in quite some time 😟
I’m currently working on something but I’m limited to what I can do with all these shops shut due to COVID.
Hopefully it’s not going to last too much longer! I’m itching to take new photos.
I hope you’re all keeping well and safe and not letting the cabin fever to set in just yet 😬
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#precovid19 #petalsandprops #booksandbotanicals...

Say it with flowers! The Dutch artist Jan van Huysum is considered by many to be the greatest flower painter ever, the detailing in his paintings being absolutely exquisite. This particular work, ‘Vase of Flowers’ (1722) was stolen from the Uffizi Gallery by the Nazis in 1943. After many years and legal proceedings, it returned to the Uffizi in 2019.

Tighty Whities 👩🏻‍🦳
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My absolute favourite flower -
The Ranunculus!
They are still in a tight bud at the moment and I can’t wait for them to open out into the delicious beauties they are 🙌🏻
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Big thanks to my local florist floraldreams_uk who not only went out and got these specially for me but also stayed open a little later so that I could get home from work to go collect them. #floristgoals 👊🏻
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Expect more photos of these bad boys!!
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#ranuculus #mexturescollective...

You have to take a step back and appreciate the little things sometimes 🌼
Today I’m appreciating this beautiful vase from my favourite florist floraldreams_uk.
It’s all about the texture 😍
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Added to my online shop, now available to purchase. 🌱 LINK IN BIO 🌱
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#mexturescollective #daisies...

We have begun a series of floral arrangements on our Webshop. The unique thing about creating an arrangement outside of the traditional ‘water in vase’ scenario, is that you are presented with the opportunity to get super creative. We love the dynamic explosion of colour and texture sitting pretty here on the streets of the Spiegelkwartier in Amsterdam.
We are currently searching for a rockstar freelancer to join part of our team. Tag the person who would enjoy creating a special piece like this, and maybe they could join our team! 💃🏼
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#apbloem #florist #amsterdam #bloemist #kerkstraat #flowers #bloemen #bouquet #dutch #webshop #bloemenbezorgen #flowerdeliveries #plukboeket #veldboeket #bloemetjeversturen #onlinedelivery #dutchmasters #dutchgoldenage #bespoke #fieldbouquet #supportlocal #moederdag #flowershop #bloemenwinkel #planten #plants #orchid #bloemstuk #wild #orchidee the_flowershopkeepers the_shopkeepers thursdofficial the_greengallery mooiwatbloemendoen...

Progress, not perfection 💫
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Another arrangement in preparation for the Dutch still life I want to recreate.
I found myself looking at vases that cost waaayy to much for a prop.
This is how much I want do the best I can for this upcoming series.
I keep looking at various props that would be fitting for this genre and the more I look, the more I’m falling in love with it 🥰
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#dutchstilllife #peonies #seashell...

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes,
including you 🌸
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I’ve been rather quiet of late.
Sorry about that.
Sometimes you need a break.
These peonies were a great distraction 🌸
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#peonies #petalsandprops #justbefloral...

Keep looking where the light pours in 💫
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For a long time now I’ve been wanting to recreate a Dutch still life. I’ve got this whole image in my mind of how I want my image to look and what props I’m going to use, some of which I’ve already ordered and some I have to wait for this damn COVID business to subside. So in the meantime whilst waiting for all my props etc to arrive, I’ve been researching the old masters and this afternoon I had an itch that I really needed to scratch!
So I put a little scene together and tested out a few things 💥
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The old Dutch masters will continue to inspire me.
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#dutchstilllife #peonies...

Even when we can’t control the situation around us,
We can always choose where we’re directing our attention - Liz Stanley
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It’s been a while since I’ve taken photos. I’m still travelling into work these days as my company is classed as essential so no working from home for me. I’ve not actually been in the frame of mind for taking photos just recently. I took myself away from it for awhile. Sometimes I like to do that from time to time.
I hope you’re all keeping well and staying indoors when you can.
Stay safe everyone!
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#petalsandprops...

ONLINESHOP LAUNCH 🚀 How to celebrate this occasion better than with a decent glas of lilac champagne 🥂 From today on you can order the prints of my #isolationcreation series online 👉link in bio 👈 (please contact me for international shippings via the contact form). Btw, 3% of my yearly revenues go to a charity in the animal welfare or environmental protection sector ❤️ .
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This is #isolationcreation XX ✨...

“Happy first of Meh” we said today, as isolation fatigue kept us all awake until the early hours. And the the birds started up. The weather echoes our sentiments, as it dithers between wet, sunny, cold and balmy. This week we have managed to break a lawnmower, a loo and a juicer (only just got this one, poor) but remembered a birthday present (for mother, a triumph, for the sulk would be interminable if had forgotten) and achieved a bumper crop of aliums due to negligence in the weeding department. It’s so meh it’s untrue. Happy mehday chumlingtons. #isolationcreation #60daysofcreation #her_dark_materials #dutchgoldenage #janvanhuysum #tulips #gardenflowers #homegrownflowers #botanicalpickmeup #underthefloralspell #inspiredbypetals #floralfaffing #aliums #countryliving #cotswoldslife #oxfordshirecountryside #rusticgamestrong #stilleben #jj_stillife #naturamorta #naturemoments #naturemorte #17thcenturyart #dutchstillife #blumenliebe #frühlingsblumen #tulpen...

At least we still have the pictures. The weather is lovely and the tulips are in bloom. Right now the Dutch flower fields are turning into a tapestry of bright colours, but we can’t go out to see them. Of course that was the case for most of history. Before the invention of the internal combustion engine, hardly anyone could visit these fields. Well that is not true. Only those who lived close enough could make the trip. Still, the flower industry in (North-, and South) Holland is centuries old. One of the reasons is that you can sell both fresh flowers and their bulbs. The bulbs obviously travel better so you could export them over larger distances. The flower still-life industry grew next to it. In Haarlem, which is in the middle of tulip country, lots of painters specialised in these so you could enjoy flowers even when they were not to be seen in nature. These pictures are basically very expensive souvenirs. But for all the realism you see here, this is far from real. Actually, you would never be able to see this bouquet in real life because it contains carnations, roses and tulips, all of which bloom at different times of the year. Then again, why would you restrict yourself to reality when you can use imagination?
Flower Still Life, Hans Bollongier, 1639, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. .
#flowerworld #dutchgoldenage #tulips...

Spent an hour unclogging the hoover, almost counts as vital housework, so chores almost done went out on a hunt for blossom, petal confetti scattering me as the wind whipped around the garden. Came in and lost the afternoon to a series of still lifes roughly entitled “thank fuck Easter will be over soon” #stilllifephotography #her_dark_materials #stilleben #naturamorta #stilllifewithflowers #rijksmuseum #dutchstilllife #dutchgoldenage #vermeer #blossomseason #thatwinterspringthing #botanicalpickmeup #faffingwithflowers #floralphotography #thecotswolds #onthetableproject #rusticgamestrong #countrylivingmag #homesandgardens #fineartphotographer #jj_still_life #tv_hiddenbeauty #simplearrangement #naturemorte...

On our Dutch Masters Workshop, we explore concepts of colour composition to create two different arrangements taking inspiration from Dutch still life painters. Using the same flower ingredients, these exercises allow students to explore their own interpretation and style of flower arranging. Swipe to see more of our students’ work
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#floristryschool #floristrycourse #flowerschool #flowerschoollondon #floristrystudent #floristryclass #londonflorist #floristrytechnique #londonflowerschool #dutchgoldenage #dutchstilllife...

This is Part 2 on pearls. 😬🤓
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The oyster’s natural defense mechanism against a foregin object creates a pearl, and a choker made from this chance creation would have been of tremendous value. However, the Mistress's very large drop earrings most likely would have been a figment of Vermeer’s imagination expressed by way of his masterly artistry with the brush. “Girl With a Pearl Earring” (title of Tracy Chevalier’s book and a movie) is perhaps the more well recognized of Vermeer’s work of art in which a pearl earring takes center stage. However, Vermeer painted some nine paintings of women wearing large tear shaped pearl earrings.
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Fast forward to 1893. Japan’s Kokichi Mikimoto discovered the way pearls are created in oysters in salt water and replicated the process by farming oysters and inducing the pearl formation. Cultured pearls are by no means inauthentic. But the availability of cultured pearls in the beginning of the twentieth century expanded the possibilities of jewelry design and opened the way for the ordinary jewelry consumer to afford pearls. Mikimoto opened its first seven international shops in key locations before WWII including on London’s New Bond Street and New York’s Fifth Ave.
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Louis Cartier, often regarded as the founding father of the Art Deco movement, exchanged two strands of “oriental pearls” in 1916 for a building on New York’s Fifth Avenue that would become Cartier’s iconic location. At the time, both the pearls and the building were valued at $1.2mn (Cartier, 1982).
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[“Pearl Fashion Through the Ages” by Dirlam M., et al; “Mikimoto” by Foulkes, N; Essential Vermeer, http://www.essentialvermeer.com/index.html]
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One of the arrangements created by LFS Creative Director Wagner Kreusch during our last live demonstration. There is still time to book your place for our last session which will happen tomorrow 8 May 1PM London time (GMT+1)! Visit our website via direct link on our profile to register and more information.
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#LFSathome
#LFSlive
#stayhomewithLFS
#floristrydemonstration
#livefloristry
#livestreamfloristry
#onlinefloristry
#onlinefloristrycourse
#floristrycourse
#floristryclass
#floraldemonstration
#floralclass
#floralclasses
#floristrytechnique
#londonflowerschool
#flowerschoollondon
#floristryschoollondon
#dutchgoldenage
#dutchstilllife
#dutchpaintings
#stilllifephotography
#flowerphotography
#vanitas
#flowerpainting
#dutchmasters...

The Sad Tale of Bertie the Racing Snail, or why walking Your Pet and having a Sit Down is a Bad Idea. We used to keep racing snails, me and the sibling. Her idea, of course, she had all the cool ideas being four years older and in charge of a great deal more Cunning than I. But I had the Top racer, Bertie, exquisitely marked and the gentlest nature (actually he was a snail, I’ve no idea what his nature was like). Bertie ran rings around the other snails, sort of. Not really, but it’s hard to make a story about racing snails sound exciting, unless you liberally sprinkle it with bullshit. Bertie was a whizz! A demon at the “Snail 100”, the Usain Bolt of the snail world. A winner. A champ! Until one day when out for a walk, small me sat down because frankly his walks were just very slow slimes, had a day dream about having a show jumper called gammon, after my favourite food. After a while, noticed that Bertie was nowhere to be seen, unusual for a non fast moving creature. Leapt up, startled. And that’s when I heard a terrible and slightly shattered pealing squelchy noise. Of Bertie, stuck to my bum. I had killed my pride and joy with my bottom. The leftover gooey shards were no consolation, nor the wet patch on my jeans. Molluscicide is a very traumatic experience, so as I bounded into the house, devastated yet secretly relieved I didn’t have to go on any more snail walks, I realised an irrevocable truth. Snails make really bad pets. Also I’m quite callous. Another still life. With dead snails. #isolationcreation #60daysofcreation #astilllifestyle #her_dark_materials #littlestoriesofmylife #oldmasters #likeapainting #fineartphoto #dutchgoldenage #stilllifewithflowers #rijksmuseum #mondaymotivations #rusticgamestrong #tulipfever #onthetable #17thcenturyart #artprints #thecotswolds #cotswoldsstyle #countrylivingmag #underthefloralspell #botanicalpickmeup #inspiredbypetals #floralfaffing #veritas #chiaroscuro #stilleben #naturemorte...

Turns out am isolation underachiever. Have neither cleaned the house, tidied/painted the shed, become proficient in Mandarin nor have I Zoomed. I did clear out the kitchen cupboard, put the useful things back in, but all limbo items are in a box on the floor, where they have been for weeks now, and have yet to be ‘dealt’ with (what do you do with noodles from 2006?) what I have achieved is a higher plane of philosophical discussions with the cat, and an uncanny ability to read meaning into her daily entrails delivery, rather as you would tea leaves. Today for example was “you will get up, wander around for a bit, and go to sleep. You probably won’t converse with a sentient being” another still life, and lilacs are here. #isolationcreation #60daysofcreation #slowdownwithstills #sundaystillness #slowlifegoodlife #botanicalpickmeup #aseasonalshift #inspiredbypetals #underthefloralspell #astilllifestyle #sublimenature #nurturenature #homegrownflowers #inspiredbypetals #stilleben #naturamorta #naturemorte #veritas #dutchgoldenage #softandsubtle #thatlightingtho #her_dark_materials #creativephotography...

This week I also got good news. I hope your got too. It truly made my day 😻 I photographed this photo for viinilehti and it won in aikakausmedia ‘s Edit competition. The best cover award, wohoo 💛 Viini magazine team trusted me and I could make this Dutch Golden Age arrangement and photograph it in my workspace. The award gala was cancelled but this is just what corona does to us. We have to adapt to the situation. But we will celebrate this when it is possible with Viini magazine team satu10 and other lovely people ❤️ have a relaxing Sunday afternoon and remember to keep the distance and wash your hands 🧻 yes we can do this 🧻ps. Some of the Dahlias are from my own garden. #viinilehti #aikakausmedia #viinimagazine #dutchgoldenage #kreettajärvenpääphotography #floralartnow #petalsandprops #flowersandotherstories #moodforfloral #blooooms #floralinspiration #fineart #dsfloral #floralart #allthingsbotanical #botanicaldaydreams #gatherandcurate #celebratethebeautyofnature #underthefloralspell #still_life_gallery #still_life_mood #nature_perfection #fineart #flowerphotography...

Reverted to childhood self, one who spent weekends lurking on beaches behind a patter of beardy geology students on field trips. Collected everything at ground level for my museum, shells, stones, bits of glass, seaweed (too smelly abandoned swiftly). Less anoraky if were to explain am spawn of geeky geologist parents, mother in charge of wonderful museum full of fossils, minerals, a petrified log no less (oh the dreadful jokes can you imagine? Well it doesn’t look petrified to me, just a little shy)a modern day Mary Anning. Current time in garden has unearthed mummified bee, many snails, socks galore, lots of blue china (Obvs an ancestor lived here) and some very fetching pant elastic. There’s a snail in a box at the bottom of the picture which I had to sacrifice for the alium bouffant. And the last tulip. Still life, but not as we know it. #isolationcreation #60daysofcreation #astilllifestyle #dutchgoldenage #janvanhuysum #flowerpowered #botanicalpickmeup #underthefloralspell #inspiredbypetals #rijksmuseum #tulipani #littlestoriesofmylife #museumbouquet #museums #flowersandfossils #alium #her_dark_materials #fineartphoto #maryanning #fossilhunter #treasureseeker #gardenflowers #camborneschoolofmines #stilleben #naturemorte...

To me Gerrit Dou little dog curled up in a kitchen corner is one of the dearest representations of dogs in art history. I am prepping a series of little clips about dogs in art as a remedy for our corona virus time. Stay put ! #dogsinart #arttotherescue #livinginthetimeofcorona #fortheloveofpets #gerritdou #dutchgoldenage...

Turkish eggs with the last of the wild garlic and the first of the homegrown dill. Comfort food special today, as slightly losing my shit at the horrible sound of motorbike races that have gone on and on up and down the main road incessantly today (poor cyclists must be losing their Lycra load) and the globs of people congregating in queues outside EVERYWHERE. Am I alone in thinking the most epically vague slogan “stay alert...... (Britain needs all the Lerts it can get)” was taken off the back of a Ford Cortina circa 1983 and has been put back into circulation just for a laugh? Right, going to hack at some weeds. #hautecuisines #isolationcreation #60daysofcreation #stayathome #putaneggonjt #sourdoughbread #cilbir #turkisheggs #nigella #nigellarecipe #atmytable #labneh #localfood #homemadebread #eatsleeprepeat #homegrownfood #wildgarlic #foragedfood #cotswolds #littlestoriesofmylife #her_dark_materials #feedfeedathome #dutchgoldenage #nigellatecipe #foodasart #rusticgamestrong #lifeandthyme #greatbritishfood...

Looking forward to TEFAF next week!
Among the highlights of Richard Green’s forty-fifth Maastricht presentation are three exceptional still lifes, including
Daniel Seghers (1590–1661), ‘Still life of roses, an iris, hyacinths, columbine and a carnation in a glass vase, with a Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)’, painted in the 1640s.
For more information on #OldMasterpaintings currently for sale in the #RGCollection, please use our #linkinbio
We hope to see you in Maastricht tefaf !
TEFAF Maastricht 7th-15th March 2020...